Mary Hansen

Reporter

Mary Hansen

Carter Staley
/ NPR Illinois 91.9 UIS

Mary reports for NPR Illinois and Illinois Issues. She graduated from the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois Springfield, where she spent a legislative session covering statehouse news for The Daily Herald. Previously, Mary reported for The State Journal-Register, covering city government. She received her BA in International Studies from American University.

Ways to Connect

During his first year in office, President Donald Trump has rescinded or repealed many of his predecessor’s policies aimed at curbing climate change and protecting the air and water from pollution.

Those rollbacks — along with funding cuts to state environmental protection agencies — have concerned Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC).

“We’ve seen that whether it’s in Flint, Michigan, or… the lead in water in East Chicago, Indiana, these are issues states can’t necessarily deal with on their own,” Walling said. If Illinois were faced with an environmental crisis, it may not have the resources needed to address it.

Illinois coal mines lost 228 jobs in the last year, according to numbers from the federal agency that tracks mine safety. That’s fewer jobs than were shed in 2016, and production is up by around 11 percent in the state.

The trend is encouraging, said Phil Gonet, president of the Illinois Coal Association. He attributes the shift in part to President Donald Trump’s roll-back of the Clean Power Plan and other environmental regulations during his first year in office.

Illinois lawmakers ended the state budget impasse and made big changes to how the state pays for public schools. The state also wrestled with the debate over abortion and a nationwide rise in hate incidents.

Producing electricity at Springfield’s coal-fired power plant instead of buying it on the wholesale market cost customers $261 million over the last nine years, according to an analysis commissioned by the local chapter of the Sierra Club.

A dozen linemen from Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power repaired electricity lines Thursday in the hurricane-damaged town of Lake Worth, Florida, about 60 miles north of Miami.

The crews arrived Tuesday to assist in restoring power to tens of thousands of residents after Hurricane Irma swept through the city.

“We kind of have to help each other out because you can’t staff enough workers for a storm like this,” said Bill Mathews, a CWLP supervisor. “Maybe we have an ice storm some time and they come up here and give us a hand.”